Bottle from the brewery open house. Pours a slightly hazy reddish copper color with a huge frothy bubbly off white head that persists forever. Earthy, pine, citrus, and stone fruits meld with light caramel and bready malts in the aroma. The flavor holds a bit more maltiness than the aroma suggested. Solid bready caramel base with an earthy citrusy flavor. Moderate hop bitterness. Medium body with a moderate level of carbonation and a slick resinous mouthfeel. A bit old school with a heavier caramel and toffee malty presence, but the use of newer hop varieties make this one stand out. Nice brew.

The pour is a deeper amber color with a maple or mahogany tone leading up to a modest off-white head that lingers. Fairly good clarity.

The aroma begins with a sweet profile followed by the earthy and slightly floral hop character of an IPA. There is a definitive dark fruit character in this as well and not the zingy type most associated with IPA's.

The body is medium and smooth.

The taste begins with a fascinating sweet and caramel malt note and then the mild bitterness comes in to linger dryly at the end. The malt character tends to be more forward than the hop character so IPA hopheads might be disappointed by the mild bitterness. But this is actually the way I enjoy my IPA's.